SfN 2018 NeuWriter Picks!

It’s that time of year again…the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting (SfN) starts on Saturday, and this year it’s happening on our home turf! There are a lot of reasons to be excited about SfN in San Diego…the weather is beautiful (sunny and 79 degrees in November!), neuroscience friends come to town, NeuWriteSD presents a poster (info below!), and UCSD Neurosciences students put together an epic music video to promote their party (info also below), featuring some of our very own NeuWriters!

If you’re heading to SfN this weekend but are feeling overwhelmed by the massive program of lectures, workshops and posters, here’s somewhere to start! Like we do every year, we have compiled a short itinerary of some of the program items that we’re most looking forward to – we hope you enjoy! (And come visit us at our poster on Sunday morning!)

Dr. Kastner gave a really interesting talk at UCSD some months ago, and I’m looking forward to hearing her discuss her research on the temporal dynamics of thalamo-cortical interactions underlying attention in even greater depth! Since she emphasizes a comparative approach and studies attention in both humans and non-human primates with a complementary suite of techniques, I think a lot of people will find something that interests them in this talk! – Megan Kirchgessner

NeuWriteSD has our own SfN poster! Come stop by to chat with current NeuWriters about what we’re up to, how to start a NeuWrite at your own institution, or anything! You can also pick up your copy(ies) of the NeuWrite Times!

taste of science is a national festival that takes place simultaneously in cities across the US. Since 2014, this annual festival has provided San Diegans a unique opportunity to get a flavor for the latest research by attending accessible science events in their favorite local hangouts. We bring prominent local scientists to bars and cafes to share their expertise in an entertaining way. Stop by to learn more about our approach to science communication, get involved in taste of science SD, or get information about bringing a taste of science to your city. – Barbara Spencer

Brain-machine interface is our future. Someday we will be able to walk up to our cars (or spaceships) and unlock them with our minds while changing songs on our brain-implanted iPods and opening a direct mental communication line with a friend from the other side of the world. We may not be there quite yet, but in this special lecture, Eberhard Fetz will review how far we’ve come with closed-loop interactions between brains and implantable computers. As the title suggests, this will review bidirectional interactions, meaning not only does this lecture cover brains controlling computers, but also computers influencing the brain. It’s gonna be cool. – Alana Gibson

In this minisymposium, speakers will demonstrate how to incorporate the art of storytelling into science communication. Get excited for presentations such as “Who speaks for science? Storytelling and cultural diversity in science communication” and “Science and stagecraft: Using lessons from the performing arts”. This minisymposium will also include three “powerful personal stories”, so maybe bring some tissues? – Alana Gibson

If your interest was piqued by my post about the blood-brain barrier (BBB), check out this symposium! The talks will give you a better picture of the structure and function of the BBB and how it can regulate immune cell infiltration into the brain during disease. – Catie Profaci

If you liked the NeuWriteSD post on the intersection of neuroscience and law, check out this lecture by BJ Casey! Her lab spearheaded the studies highlighted in the post. While being a scientist at the top of her field, BJ Casey has also been an outspoken advocate for reforming the justice system based on some of her findings. Particularly if you are interested in science and policy, this will be a great lecture! – Catie Profaci

“Dual perspectives” is a new SfN session this year, where neuroscientists Jess Cardin (Yale) and Vikaas Sohal (UCSF) will face off on what importance gamma oscillations – fast rhythms of brain activity on the order of 20-100Hz – have for sensory processing, cognition, memory, and attention…if they have any importance at all. I’m looking forward to hearing two preeminent researchers in systems neuroscience debate on this contentious topic! – Megan Kirchgessner

The four talks in this symposium will focus on mouse models for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. How can we make mouse models that do a better job of mirroring the human pathology and predicting the effect of drug therapies? How can we create therapeutics based on new genetic risk factors? I’m looking forward to hearing scientists address some of these questions! – Catie Profaci

Nobel Laureate Linda Buck’s group is presenting “Connect-Seq,” a breakthrough new approach that allows researchers to figure out the genes specific to very small circuits in the brain by co-opting rabies viruses. This new method could open up the brain to answer longstanding questions about developmental biology, emotion, and cognition. I am really interested in hearing about what they plan to apply this technique to first! – James Howe

Come join us at Parq for what’s sure to be the party of the year! Check out the facebook event here. If you’re still unconvinced, we recommend watching the video above one or two or twenty more times… – UCSD Neuro NeuWriters

I am particularly excited for the first two talks of this nanosymposium as both are from my lab and highlight really incredible, unexpected results! The first talk will cover how neural activity can regulate the permeability of the blood-brain barrier, and the second talk will discuss how regional specifications to the blood-brain barrier can regulate behavior! I’m very proud of my labmates and can’t wait to see them present. If you’re not too hungover from the UCSD Neurosciences SfN Social, you should definitely come check out the work our lab is doing! – Catie Profaci

Have you ever had the humbling experience of repeatedly trying to turn the light on during a power outage? That’s a habit and turns out the same thing can happen in mice. Come check out my poster where I’ll talk about how mice make decisions and alter their actions using their past history and current motivational state. – Drew Schreiner

If you’re interested in how your brain figures out if you’re hungry, or ready to pee, or how your blood pressure changes so you don’t faint when you get up, this is the session for you. Drs. Stowers, Patapoutian, Mazmanian and Knight will help us understand how our internal physiological states can impact our emotions and behavior. I’m particularly looking forward to the mixture of molecule and systems neuroscience approaches! – Emily Baltz

3:30 – 5:00 PM – Advocacy Reception (SDCC Room 16)

If you’re interested in science policy and advocacy, this is an opportunity to hear from SfN and global leaders on the importance of advocacy, see over 20 posters (including SciPAC at UCSD) of activities being conducted by advocacy leaders, and network with colleagues from around the globe to discuss best practices and opportunities to support basic research and neuroscience. Refreshments will be served. The reception is held as a companion piece to the Public Advocacy Forum: Advocacy in Four Dimensions (Tuesday, November 6, 2:00 – 3:30 PM; SDCC Room 10). – Jess Haley

If you still think that the only cells in the brain that matter are neurons, you should visit my poster on Wednesday. I will be presenting my recently published research on astrocytes, another type of brain cell, and their role maturing neuronal connections. I will tell you how this is crucial for plasticity, the brain’s ability to remodel its own circuits in response to different experiences. – Elena Blanco-Suarez

Come visit me and hear about one of my thesis projects! Based on RNA sequencing data from a few different mouse models of disease, I am focusing on a particular novel gene and its potential role in regulating vascular integrity during disease. – Catie Profaci